1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a storage and shipping container and in particular to a collapsible container providing container area to prevent migration of material stored and shipped therein and being collapsible to a minimum size profile when not in use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pallets have been used for many years by shippers and transporters of various materials. Pallets typically provide a flat and sturdy surface on which materials can be placed and stacked. The pallets are generally manufactured of wood which is mounted on skids so that forklifts can approach the pallet in various directions and quickly and easily lift and move the pallet. In order to ensure that the materials remain on the pallet, it has become commonplace to employ various sized and shaped containers, sometimes being attached to the tops of the pallets, to present a bounded area in which to place and/or remove the materials being shipped or stored. Early pallet containers were problematic in that they were not collapsible so that a significant amount of storage area was taken up if the containers were stored for reuse. As a result, the containers sometimes were destroyed, in which case only the wooden pallets were reused.
To address the problem of reducing the size of pallet containers, collapsible containers were designed. Collapsible containers that have been conventionally associated with pallets range from four walls and a bottom which utilized the pallet top surface as a support, to more intricate collapsible pallet-container combinations.
It is desirable in the collapsible container art to create an inexpensive, easy to assembly container that can be used with a variety of pallets. It is also desirable to provide a collapsible container having a smaller profile when collapsed.